Controlling cable spooling systems

ABSTRACT

A system for electronically controlling a reel assembly for deploying a cable, hose or umbilical connection may include an electronic control unit and an electro-pneumatic drive. The electronic control unit may receive input from an operator and cause the electro-pneumatic drive to operate to control a cable spool. For example, the electronic control unit may allow an operator to rotate the reel, stop rotation of the reel, increase or decrease the speed of rotation of the reel, increase or decrease pressure and/or line tension, and/or select between a normal mode of operation and a tensioning mode of operation. The electronic control unit may include a touchscreen. The electro-pneumatic device may include electric components, pneumatic components, and/or electro-pneumatic components. An electrical interface may be provided for connecting a remote control unit. The electrical interface may be wired or wireless. The remote control unit may enable an operator to control one or more reel assemblies and may allow an operator to take over control of a reel assembly via the remote control unit. Sensors may be provided on a turn down sheave that directs the cable, hose or umbilical connection toward a BOP stack. The sensors may provide information to the electronic control unit, such as a measured line tension and/or a length of cable, hose or umbilical connection that has been deployed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present application relates to reel systems for the receiving,storage, and deploying of cables (such as one or more electrical lines),hoses, umbilical connections (such as bundles of hydraulic lines,electrical lines, cables, hoses, and/or combinations thereof) and thelike.

2. Related Art

Subsea blowout prevention equipment (BOP) uses large, specialized valvesor similar mechanical devices, usually installed redundantly in stacks,to seal, control and monitor oil and gas wells. Redundant sub-seacontrol pods are used to control the valves of the BOP stack, some ofwhich are referred to in the industry as blue and yellow pods. The podsof the BOP stack are controlled by cables, hoses, umbilical connectionsand the like with various capacity outside diameters. The reel systemsused for winding the cable, hoses, umbilical connections and the likeonto spools, particularly on off-shore drill rigs, employ spools whichare mechanically driven.

Off-shore drill rigs often use multiplex cable reels, hot line hosereels, riser fill valve hose reels and the like in control systems forBOP equipment. Each of these components may provide variousfunctionalities. In a typical rig, four spools may provide controlcables for a BOP stack. These components may function as follows:multiplex cable reel assemblies may be used to pay out and retrievemultiplex cables that may be used to transmit electric signals to allowfor the control of sub-sea hydraulic functions on the sub-sea blue andyellow pods; a hot line hose reel assembly may be used to pay out andretrieve a hose that provides hydraulic fluid from the drilling rig deckto the sub-sea pods to allow for the control of sub-sea hydraulicfunctions on the sub-sea blue and yellow pods; and a riser fill valvehose reel assembly may pay out and retrieve a hose that provides, inresponse to a sudden pressure differential between the inside andoutside of a riser opens to allow the riser to fill with seawater andthus equalizing the pressure differential and preventing collapse of theriser.

In operation, the spools are typically located on the drillship near amoon pool area (i.e. the opening in the floor or base of the platform toprovide access to the water below) and may be on different levelsdepending on the rig design. The cable or hose often is deployed fromthe spool to an overhead roller type turn down sheave, or multiplesheaves, to direct the cable or hose to the blue and yellow pods on theBOP stack assembly in the drill ship's moon pool.

Typical systems employ manual, pneumatically-controlled, mechanicalcontrol systems for each of the individual reel assemblies, to positionthe sub-sea end of the cable or hose to the pod. Once the cables andhoses are connected to the pods, the operation of deploying the BOPstack begins. Drill pipe and flotation risers having typical lengths of60 to 90 feet or more (nominally, about 18 to 28 meters) are attached tothe stack. The cables and hoses are attached to clamps located on theriser as the 60 or 90 foot (nominally, about 18 to 28 meters) sectionsare made up. The reels are not rotating while the drill pipe and risersections are made up. Once made up, the reels begin rotating to deploythe cables and hoses until the next section is ready to be attached.This operation continues until the BOP stack is anchored to the sea bedfloor. A control stand may be located away from the spools, in the moonpool area, with a clear vision of the deployment. The operator at theremote control stand may be able to operate one or more of the reelassemblies and may make adjustments as may be necessary during theoperation.

Currently, the pneumatically driven mechanical control systems used tocontrol the reel assembly operation suffer from various shortcomings.For example, there are limitations on the locations of reel assembliesand a remote control stand because pneumatic control signals are subjectto decreasing performance such as slower responses as the distancebetween the reel and the remote control stand increases. As anotherexample, mechanical push-pull valves are used to alternate controlbetween a local controller and a remote control stand. The use of thesevalves necessitate that an operator manually activate the valve at eachreel assembly to provide full control of the system to the remotecontrol stand. In addition, current reel assemblies do not provide muchfeedback to the operator about the actual conditions of the cable/hose,such as accurate information about the actual tension on the cable/hoseor how much of the cable/hose has been deployed.

Accordingly, a need has long existed for improved systems and methodsfor controlling cable spooling systems.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, a reel assembly for accepting, holding, and deployingcable, hose, umbilical connections or the like, may include a spoolassembly including a frame and a drum mounted in said frame. The drummay include a core and end flanges for storing said cable, hose orumbilical connection. The reel assembly may also include an air motorand an electro-pneumatic drive unit including a plurality of pneumaticvalves, electro-pneumatic valves, or both, and the air motor may becoupled to the drum via the electro-pneumatic drive unit. The reelassembly may also include an electronic control unit coupled to theelectro-pneumatic drive unit. The electronic control unit may receiveuser input and may transmit electrical signals to the electro-pneumaticdrive unit to cause the electro-pneumatic drive unit to control themotor to rotate the drum. The electronic control unit may also receiveinput and may transmit electrical signals to the electro-pneumatic driveunit to cause the electro-pneumatic drive unit to increase or decreasean air pressure associated with the assembly.

In another aspect, a reel assembly for accepting, holding, and deployingcable, hose, umbilical connections or the like, may include a spoolassembly including a frame and a drum mounted in said frame, and thedrum may include a core and end flanges for storing said cable, hose orumbilical connection. The reel assembly may also include an air motorand an electro-pneumatic drive unit including a plurality of pneumaticvalves, electro-pneumatic valves, or both, and the air motor may becoupled to the drum via the electro-pneumatic drive unit. The reelassembly may also include a local electronic control unit coupled to theelectro-pneumatic drive unit, and the local electronic control unit mayreceive user input and may transmit electrical signals to theelectro-pneumatic drive unit to cause the electro-pneumatic drive unitto control the motor to rotate the drum. The local electronic controlunit may also receive input and may transmit electrical signals to theelectro-pneumatic drive unit to cause the electro-pneumatic drive unitto increase or decrease an air pressure associated with the assembly.The reel assembly may also include a remote electronic control unitcoupled to the electro-pneumatic drive unit, and the remote electroniccontrol unit may receive user input and may transmit electrical signalsto the electro-pneumatic drive unit to cause the electro-pneumatic driveunit to control the motor to rotate the drum. The remote electroniccontrol unit may also receive input and may transmit electrical signalsto the electro-pneumatic drive unit to cause the electro-pneumatic driveunit to increase or decrease an air pressure associated with theassembly.

In yet another aspect, a system for deploying a blow out prevention(BOP) stack may include a plurality of reel assemblies for accepting,holding, and deploying cable, hose, umbilical connections or the like.Each reel assembly may include a spool assembly including a frame and adrum mounted in said frame, and the drum may include a core and endflanges for storing said cable, hose or umbilical connection. Each reelassembly may also include an air motor and an electro-pneumatic driveunit including a plurality of pneumatic valves, electro-pneumaticvalves, or both, and the air motor may be coupled to the drum via theelectro-pneumatic drive unit. Each reel assembly may also include alocal electronic control unit coupled to the electro-pneumatic driveunit, and the local electronic control unit may receive user input andmay transmit electrical signals to the electro-pneumatic drive unit tocause the electro-pneumatic drive unit to control the motor to rotatethe drum. The system may also include a remote electronic control unitcoupled to the electro-pneumatic drive unit of each of the plurality ofreel assemblies, and the remote electronic control may provide userinterface controls for controlling each of the plurality of reelassemblies, may receive user input for controlling a selected reelassembly and, in response, may transmit electrical signals to theelectro-pneumatic drive units of the selected reel assembly to cause theelectro-pneumatic drive unit of the selected reel assembly to controlthe motor of the selected reel assembly to rotate the drum of theselected reel assembly.

In another aspect, a reel assembly may include a local electroniccontrol unit and a remote electronic control unit. Selection of a userinterface control on the remote electronic control unit may cause thelocal electronic control unit to display indicia indicative of at leastone selected from the group of the user's selection on the remoteelectronic control unit user interface control and a current mode ofoperation.

In still another aspect, a reel assembly may include a local electroniccontrol unit and a remote electronic control unit. Selection of a userinterface control on the local electronic control unit may cause theremote electronic control unit to display indicia indicative of at leastone selected from the group of the user's selection on the localelectronic control unit user interface control and a current mode ofoperation.

In other various aspects, a reel assembly may include a sheave coupledto one or more sensors that determine either a force applied to thesheave, a length of cable, hose or umbilical connection deployed, orboth. The sensors may be, for example, a load cell or a position sensor.The sheave may be coupled to an electronic control unit of the reelassembly, and the electronic control unit may receive informationindicative of either the determined force, the length of cable, hose orumbilical connection deployed, or both. The electronic control also maydisplay either a line tension value, a deployed cable value, or both,based on the received information.

Other systems, methods, features and technical advantages of theinvention will be, or will become apparent to one with skill in the art,upon examination of the figures and detailed description. It is intendedthat all such additional systems, methods, features and technicaladvantages be included within this summary and be protected by theclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention can be better understood with reference to the followingdrawings and description. The components in the figures are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustratingthe principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary configuration of reel assemblies havingelectronic control systems on a drilling rig;

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of an exemplary cable/hose reel assemblyhaving an electronic control/hose reel assembly of FIG. 2;

FIG. 3 shows a front view of the cable/hose reel assembly of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 shows a right side view of the cable reel assembly of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary local control panel for the cable/hose reelassembly of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram illustrating the operation of anexemplary electro-pneumatic drive system for use in an electroniccontrol system for a cable/hose spooling system;

FIG. 7 shows an exemplary remote control panel for the configuration ofcable reel assemblies shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 8 shows an exemplary turn down sheave for use with a cable/hosereel assembly shown in FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The elements illustrated in the figures interoperate as explained inmore detail below. Before setting forth the detailed explanation,however, it is noted that all of the discussion below, regardless of theparticular implementation being described, is exemplary in nature,rather than limiting.

Referring to FIG. 1, an exemplary configuration of cable/hose reelassemblies 10 a-d is shown. Although the terms “cable,” “hose,”“umbilical,” and “cable/hose” are used to describe various aspects ofthe embodiments described herein, it should be understood by one ofordinary skill in the art that the embodiments may be used incombination with cables, hoses, umbilical connections and the like andthat use of the terms is exemplary in nature and not limiting. Asillustrated, the configuration includes four reel assemblies 10 a-doperating in conjunction with associated turn-down sheaves 500 a-d toprovide various cables, hoses and the like to a BOP stack. Each reelassembly 10 a-d may include an electronic local control unit 300 and mayalso be connected to an electronic remote control unit 400.

The cable/hose reel assembly 10 is shown generally in FIGS. 2-6, and maycomprise a spool assembly 11 powered by an electro-pneumatic drivesystem 200 operated via an electronic control unit 300. In someembodiments, the assembly 10 may include a plurality of electroniccontrol units 300, such as one or more local control units housed on thereel assembly 10 and one or more remote control units that may bephysically separate from the reel assembly 10.

The reel assembly 10 may comprise a frame 12 that rotatably supports acable spool 60 via drum supporting members 34, the spool 60 having acore or hub 62 and opposite end flanges 63. A cable, wire, hose, etc. isguided onto and off of the spool for even wrapping by means of a guideor “level wind” assembly 64 having a carriage 65 mounted for traversinga reversible diamond groove shaft 66 by means of a follower 68, as theshaft 66 is rotated. In some embodiments, the “level wind” assembly 64may operate like one or more of the ones described in U.S. Pat. Nos.7,210,647 and 8,061,644, each of which is incorporated by reference asif fully restated herein. Other “level wind” assemblies may be used.

Spool 60 may have a diameter between about 30 inches (nominally, about75 centimeters) and about 120 inches (nominally, about 30 centimeters)or more, preferably between about 48 inches (nominally, about 120centimeters) and about 72 inches (nominally, about 185 centimeters), andmay have a width between about 50 inches (nominally, about 125centimeters) and about 150 inches, and preferably between about 72inches and about 120 inches (nominally, about 300 centimeters). Theflanges 63 may have a diameter between about 48 inches (nominally, about120 centimeters) and about 205 inches (nominally, about 525centimeters), preferably between about 60 (nominally, about 150centimeters) inches and about 180 inches (nominally, about 460centimeters). The cable/hose may have a length between about 4,000 feet(nominally, about 1,200 meters) and about 20,000 feet (nominally, about6,100 meters), preferably between about 7,000 feet (nominally, about2,100 meters) and about 15,0000 feet (nominally, about 4,600 meters) andeven more preferably between about 11,000 feet (nominally, about 3,300meters) and about 13,000 feet (nominally, about 4,000 meters). Anexemplary cable may have a diameter between about ½ of an inch(nominally, about 1.2 centimeters) and about 2½ inches (nominally, about6 centimeters), and typically about between about 1¼ inches (nominally,about 3.5 centimeters) and about 1¾ (nominally, about 4.5 centimeters).An exemplary hose may have a diameter between about 1½ inches(nominally, about 3.8 centimeters) and about 2½ inches (nominally, about6 centimeters), and an exemplary umbilical connection may have adiameter between about 4 inches (nominally, about 10 centimeters) andabout 8 inches (nominally, about 20 centimeters). Other sizes may alsobe used.

Frame 12 may include a plurality of vertical end frame members 14,horizontal end frame members 16, and cross members 18. Frame 12 also mayinclude a plurality of corner braces 20, such as braces 20 connectingvertical end members 14 to horizontal end members 16 or to cross members18.

Frame 12 further may include one or more intermediate, horizontal braces22, preferably a plurality of braces 22, around a perimeter of frame 12.Horizontal braces 22 may be located proximate a height of thecenter/axis of rotation of spool 60, preferably slightly below center ofspool 60.

The electronic control system 300 may receive input from an operator tocontrol various aspects of the operation of the reel 11. In someembodiments, the electronic control system 300 may include aprogrammable logic controller (PLC) coupled to a touchscreen fordisplaying various interface controls, receiving user input anddisplaying status information to an operator. The PLC may be programmedto provide electrical signals to the electro-pneumatic drive unit 200 tocontrol the operation of the reel assembly as described below. Otherelectronic input devices, such as keyboards, keypads, and the like maybe used. Similarly, other components may be used to process the receivedinputs and provide control signals to the electro-pneumatic drive unit200, such as a stand-alone computer, and/or to display statusinformation to the operator, such as displays, LEDs and the like. Theelectronic control system 300 may be local control system that isfixedly and/or removably attached to the frame 12.

Referring to FIG. 5, an exemplary local control unit 300 is shown. Inthe illustrated embodiment, the local control unit 300 includes atouchscreen device 301 for displaying various interface controls302-330, receiving user input via the interface controls 302-330 anddisplaying status information to an operator. For example, the localcontrol unit 300 may display a line tension value 344 and/or a length ofcable deployed 346 that may be measured by sensors, such as a load cellor a position sensor, mounted in a turn down sheave that receives thecable mounted on the reel assembly 11, as described below. The localcontrol unit 300 also may display indicia that indicates the selectionof a user interface control 302-330. For example, upon selection of a“reel-in” control 302, the local control unit 300 may modify the colorof the “reel-in” control 302 to indicate its selection by the userand/or to indicate that the reel is winding the cable, as describedbelow. Alternatively, or additionally, other indicia, such as addingdisplay items, removing displayed items, and the like, may be used toindicate the selection of a particular control 302-330.

In some embodiments, the local control unit 300 may also includepneumatic pressure gauges 340 and 342 may be provided to indicate thevarious system pressure settings. For example, a first pneumaticpressure gauge 340 may indicate the pneumatic pressure in a normal modeof operation and a second pneumatic pressure gage 342 may indicate thepneumatic pressure in a tensioning mode of operation, as describedbelow.

In one embodiment, the operation of the reel assembly 11 via the localcontrol unit 300 may be as follows. To reel up a cable, an operator mayselect the “reel in” interface control 302, which activates thecorresponding solenoid valve 80 which in turn causes the drive motor 100to rotate. The motor 100 can be reversed by selecting the “reel out”interface control 304, to reverse spool rotation for continuously andevenly feeding out cable. The speed at which the spool rotates may beadjusted by selecting the “reel speed increase” interface control 306 or“reel speed decrease” interface control 308 to increase or decrease therotational speed of the spool, respectively. Selection of the “reelstop” interface control 326 may cause rotation of the spool to behalted. Selection of the “emergency stop” interface control 330 maycut-off power to the entire electro-pneumatic drive system 200, andselecting the “emergency stop” interface control again may reactivatethe electro-pneumatic drive system 200. Alternatively, or additionally,one or more additional controls may be provided to reactivate theelectro-pneumatic drive system 200. In some embodiments, previouslyestablished settings, such as a tension setting for a “normal” mode ofoperation and/or a “tensioning” mode of operation, may be saved when the“emergency stop” interface control 300 is activated. In otherembodiments, one or more settings may be reset by depression of the“emergency stop” interface control 330.

An operator may switch between a “normal” mode of operation and a“tensioning” mode of operation by selecting the “normal pressure mode”interface control 310 or “pressure tensioning mode” interface control316. The operator may increase or decrease the amount of tension in eachof these modes independently via interface controls 312 and 314 for the“normal” mode and interface controls 318 and 320 for the “tensioning”mode.

The “normal” mode of operation may be used, for example, to spool acable, hose or the like onto a reel during setup. In a “normal” mode ofoperation, a static pressure may be applied to the line, such as betweenabout 10 pounds per square inch (PSI) (nominally, about 70 kiloPascals(kPa)) and about 145 PSI (nominally, about 1000 kPa), preferably betweenabout 30 PSI (nominally, about 200 kPa) and about 110 PSI (nominally,about 760 kPa), more preferably between about 50 PSI (nominally, about340 kPa) and about 90 PSI (nominally, about 620 kPa), and in oneembodiment about 70-80 PSI (nominally, between about 480 kPa and about550 kPa). The pressure may be selected to generate a predeterminedcable/hose line tension for the reel assembly 10. In the “normal” modeof operation, selection of the “reel in” and/or “reel-out” controls 302and 304 cause the assembly 10 to wind in or pay out the cable or hose.

In a “tensioning” mode of operation, the assembly 10 may maintain asubstantially constant tension on the cable/hose, for example, toprevent the cable/hose from being tangled on any structure in the moonpool area as the drillship moves with wave motions. In one embodiment,an operator may activate a tensioning mode of operation as follows.First, the operator may select the “reel-in” interface control 302 andmay set an appropriate speed with control 306 and 308. Next, theoperator selects the “pressure tensioning mode” control 316 and selectsan appropriate pressure, such as between about 10 PSI (nominally, about70 kPa) and about 145 PSI (nominally, about 1000 kPa), preferablybetween about 15 PSI (nominally, about 100 kPa) and about 75 PSI(nominally, about 520 kPa), even more preferably between about 25 PSI(nominally, about 170 kPa) and about 50 PSI (nominally, about 345 kPa),and in one embodiment about 30-40 PSI (nominally, about 200-275 kPa). Asthe BOP stack is deployed (via its own controls and/or gravity) the linetension changes because, for example, the relative positions of the BOPstack and the rig may have changed due to water movement. In response,the system may either wind in the cable/hose (as the reel is set to“reel-in”) or allows slippage (via regulator 72 shown in FIG. 6) asnecessary to maintain the selected tension. In addition, because theoperator is able to read the line tension 344 as measured by a sensor onthe turn down sheave (described below in FIG. 8), the operator may beable to adjust the tension by selecting the appropriate controls 318 and320 to fine tune the operation of the system.

In some embodiments, selection of a user interface control 302-330 maycause a series of operations to be performed. For example, selection ofthe “pressure tensioning mode” control 316 may select a “tensioning”mode to be activated and may also cause the drive motor 100 to rotate towind in the cable or hose. Other combinations of operations may also betriggered by selection of a single interface control 302-330.

An operator may toggle control of the system between a local controlunit 300 and a remote control unit 400 (described below with referenceto FIG. 7) by selecting either the “local reel control” interfacecontrol 322 or the “remote reel control” 324.

Referring again to FIGS. 2-4, the electro-pneumatic drive system 200 mayreceive control signals from the local control unit 300 (and/or theremote control unit 400 described below) and, in response, may power thereel motor 100 to wind the cable on the spool 60 and run the level wind64, among other features described above.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram of one embodiment of anelectro-pneumatic drive system 200. In one embodiment, this system 200comprises a pneumatic air supply that may supply 340 standard cubic feetper minute (SCFM) up to about 145 PSI (nominally, about 1000 kPa), andtypical up to about 120 PSI (nominally, about 830 kPa). Other volumetricflow rates and pressure values may be used. In the illustratedembodiment, the air supply may be connected to the electro-pneumaticdrive unit 200 through an air filter 70, air regulator 72 and airlubricator 74, which may comprise Norgren models F17-800 A3DA,R24-801-RGNA, and L17-800-MPDA, respectively. A control panel 75includes solenoid valves 80 and 84 and proportional pressure controlvalves 87, 88 and 89. The solenoid valve 80 may be provided forcontrolling the reel direction (i.e. “reel in” and “reel out”) and maycomprise a Versa series VGG-4304-316-XMFA. A similar solenoid valve 84may be provided for selecting system pressure and mode of operation maycomprise a Versa series VGG-4302-316-XMFA. The proportional pressurecontrol valve 87, which may be of the type Norgen VP5010PK411H00, mayfeed the air regulator 94 for speed regulation. An output of the airfilter 70 may be connected with the same line to solenoid valves 80 and84 and proportional pressure control valve 87.

The outlets of the solenoid valve 84 feed pilot inputs to proportionalpressure valves 88 and 89, thereby allowing an operator to selectbetween a “normal” pressure mode and a “tensioning” pressure mode asdescribed in more detail below. The output of these valves 88 and 89 arevariable as a function the pilot input and fed to the air regulator 72via a shuttle valve 90. The proportional pressure valves 88 and 89 maybe of the type Norgren VP5010K411H00, while the valve 90 may be a VersaSV-3-316.

The air motor 100 receives an air supply from an air valve 101, which inturn is supplied by the air relay valve 94 and has pilot inputs from thesolenoid valve 80. The valve 101, an integral part of air motor 100, hastwo outputs, each of which feeds one side of the air motor 100, in orderto drive the air motor, and therefore the spool, in both directions. Forthe larger diameter valve 101, as well as for air motor 100, whichdrives the spool 60, the silencers may be of the type Allied Witan#0383007, or #0383010.

The air motor 100 may drive the spool through a planetary reducer 130.The planetary reducer may be of the type Brevini #PWD3200/SF/144/00/R33.

A disc brake caliper 120 for the motor 100 braking system may beinterconnected to the air control system by way of shuttle valve 92 anda quick exhaust valve 124, which may be of the type Versa #QE-3-316. Thebrake caliper 120 may be configured like a typical air brake, i.e. heldin the applied position by spring pressure (not show) and air pressureis used to release the brake from engagement. In the illustratedembodiment, the air motor 100 is a radial piston motor, such as theFenner SPX #R33-X-XX-R1.

Appropriate ball valves, needle valves, air exhaust silencers andpressure gauges, as indicated schematically, may be interposed in thevarious interconnecting lines in the diagram of FIG. 6.

Referring again to FIGS. 2-4, an electrical interface 350 may beprovided for attaching one or more remote control units 400. In oneembodiment, the electrical interface 350 may be a multi-pin electricalconnector such as an Amphenol Industrial Star-Line® series “ZP/ZR”connector or the like. In other embodiments, the remote-control may becoupled to the electro-pneumatic drive system 200 via a wirelessinterface, such as wireless local area network (WLAN) adaptor thatcomports to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers'(IEEE) 802.11 standards. Alternatively or additionally, other wirelesscommunication interfaces, such as Bluetooth or ZigBee interfaces, may beprovided.

Referring to FIG. 7, an exemplary remote control unit 400 is shown. Theremote control unit 400 may be substantially similar to the localcontrol unit 300 shown in FIG. 5. For example, each of the userinterface controls 302-330 and/or display controls 344 of the localcontrol unit 300 may be mirrored on the remote control unit 400(controls 402-430) and may operate as described above for the localcontrol unit 300. The remote control unit 400 may connect with theelectro-pneumatic control system 200 of FIG. 6 by way of an electricalinterface 350, which essentially parallels the outputs of the localcontrol unit 300.

In the illustrated embodiment, the remote control unit 400 may include aseparate panel 460 for each reel assembly 10 coupled to the remotecontrol unit 400. In some embodiments, the panels 460 a-d may be colorcoded to indicate its corresponding reel assembly 10. Alternatively, oradditionally, other indicia, such as text labels, may be used toindicate the associated reel assembly 10.

Selection of an interface control on either the local control unit 300or the remote control unit 400 may cause indicia indicating theselection of the control and/or the currently selected mode of operationon the other control unit 300 and 400. For example, selection of the“reel-in” control 302 on the local control unit 300 of a reel assembly10 may cause indicia indicating that the reel is currently winding thecable or hose, just as if the operator had selected the “reel-in”control 402 on the remote control stand. Notably, an operator may togglecontrol to the remote control unit 400 by selecting the “remote reelcontrol” interface control 402 for a given reel assembly 10. Inresponse, indicia will be displayed on the local control unit 300 toindicate that the remote control unit 400 currently has control of thereel assembly 10.

Referring to FIG. 8, an exemplary turn down sheave 500 for use in a reelassembly having one or more electronic control units 300 and 400 isshown. The sheave 500 may include a load cell 502 or other sensor thatmeasures a force applied at the sheave 500 relating to the cable/hosetension. Alternatively, or additionally, the sheave 500 may include aposition sensor 504 (such as a rotary encoder, reed sensor or the like)that measures the length of cable/hose that has been deployed (i.e. fedout to the BOP stack). In one embodiment, the sheave 500 may transmitthese measurements to the electro-pneumatic drive 200, which in turntransmits that information to the local control unit 300, the remotecontrol unit 400, or both. Alternatively, or additionally, the sheave500 may be directly coupled to the local control unit 300, the remotecontrol unit 400, or both. In either case, the information received fromthe sensors 502 and 504 on the sheave may be directly displayed on thecontrol unit 300, such as at interface controls 344 and 346, or may bemathematically manipulated, reformatted, or the like in order to bedisplayed on the control unit 300.

Unlike purely pneumatic systems that suffer performance inherentlimitations such as degradation over long distances, use of the localand remote electronic control units 300 and 400 in cooperation with anelectro-pneumatic drive unit 200 as described herein virtuallyeliminates any loss in system response time and enables a reel operatorto control the system 10 from any location on the drilling rig.Alternatively, or additionally, the systems and methods described hereinalso may enable a “driller's console” to be established where the BOPstack deployment may be observed via a series of cameras and theoperator may manipulate the system via a remote electronic control unit400 and even select control of a particular reel assembly 10 directlyfrom the remote stand.

While various embodiments of the invention have been described, it willbe apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many moreembodiments and implementations are possible within the scope of theinvention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be restricted except inlight of the attached claims and their equivalents.

I claim:
 1. A reel assembly for accepting, holding, and deploying cable,hose or umbilical connections, comprising: a spool assembly including aframe and a drum mounted in said frame, the drum including a core andend flanges for storing said cable, hose or umbilical connection; an airmotor; an electro-pneumatic drive unit including a plurality ofpneumatic valves, electro-pneumatic valves, or both, the air motorcoupled to the drum via the electro-pneumatic drive unit; an electroniccontrol unit coupled to the electro-pneumatic drive unit, where theelectronic control unit receives user input and transmits electricalsignals to the electro-pneumatic drive unit to cause theelectro-pneumatic drive unit to control the motor to rotate the drum,where the electronic control unit receives input and transmitselectrical signals to the electro-pneumatic drive unit to cause theelectro-pneumatic drive unit to increase or decrease an air pressureassociated with the assembly.
 2. The reel assembly of claim 1, where theelectronic control unit includes a touchscreen.
 3. The reel assembly ofclaim 1, where the electronic control unit is fixedly attached to theframe.
 4. The reel assembly of claim 1, where the electronic controlunit displays status information.
 5. The reel assembly of claim 4further comprising a sheave coupled to one or more sensors thatdetermine either a force applied to the sheave, a length of cable, hoseor umbilical connection deployed, or both.
 6. The reel assembly of claim5, where the sheave is coupled to the electronic control unit, theelectronic control unit receives information indicative of either thedetermined force, the length of cable, hose or umbilical connectiondeployed, or both, and displays either a line tension value, a deployedcable, hose or umbilical connection value, or both, based on thereceived information.
 7. The reel assembly of claim 6, where the each ofthe one or more sensors is one selected from the group comprising a loadcell and a position sensor.
 8. The reel assembly of claim 1 furthercomprising a brake assembly coupled to the drum and theelectro-pneumatic drive unit, where the electronic control unit receivesinput and transmits electrical signals to the electro-pneumatic driveunit to cause the electro-pneumatic drive unit to rotate and de-activatethe brake.
 9. The reel assembly of claim 1, where the electronic controlunit receives input and transmits electrical signals to theelectro-pneumatic drive unit to cause the electro-pneumatic drive unitto increase or decrease a rotational speed of the drum.
 10. The reelassembly of claim 1, where the electronic control unit receives inputand transmits electrical signals to the electro-pneumatic drive unit tocause the electro-pneumatic drive unit to toggle between a normal modeof operation and a tensioning mode of operation.
 11. The reel assemblyof claim 10, where the electronic control unit displays indiciaindicative of at least one selected from the group of a user selectionof an interface control and a current mode of operation.
 12. The reelassembly of claim 10, where the electronic control unit receives inputand transmits electrical signals to the electro-pneumatic drive unit tocause the electro-pneumatic drive unit to increase or decrease an airpressure associated with the assembly in the normal mode of operationand where the electronic control unit receives input and transmitselectrical signals to the electro-pneumatic drive unit to cause theelectro-pneumatic drive unit to increase or decrease an air pressureassociated with the assembly in the tensioning mode of operation. 13.The reel assembly of claim 1, further comprising a second electroniccontrol unit physically separate from the frame and an electricalinterface that couples the second electronic control unit to theelectro-pneumatic drive unit.
 14. The reel assembly of claim 13, wherethe electrical interface comprises a multi-pin electrical connector. 15.A reel assembly for accepting, holding, and deploying cable, hose orumbilical connections, comprising: a spool assembly including a frameand a drum mounted in said frame, the drum including a core and endflanges for storing said cable, hose or umbilical connection; an airmotor; an electro-pneumatic drive unit including a plurality ofpneumatic valves, electro-pneumatic valves, or both, the air motorcoupled to the drum via the electro-pneumatic drive unit; a localelectronic control unit coupled to the electro-pneumatic drive unit,where the local electronic control unit receives user input andtransmits electrical signals to the electro-pneumatic drive unit tocause the electro-pneumatic drive unit to control the motor to rotatethe drum, where the local electronic control unit receives input andtransmits electrical signals to the electro-pneumatic drive unit tocause the electro-pneumatic drive unit to increase or decrease an airpressure associated with the assembly; and a remote electronic controlunit coupled to the electro-pneumatic drive unit, where the remoteelectronic control unit receives user input and transmits electricalsignals to the electro-pneumatic drive unit to cause theelectro-pneumatic drive unit to control the motor to rotate the drum,where the remote electronic control unit receives input and transmitselectrical signals to the electro-pneumatic drive unit to cause theelectro-pneumatic drive unit to increase or decrease an air pressureassociated with the assembly.
 16. The reel assembly of claim 15, wherethe local electronic control unit displays indicia indicative of atleast one selected from the group of a user selection of an interfacecontrol and a current mode of operation.
 17. The reel assembly of claim16, where selection of a user interface control on the remote electroniccontrol unit causes the local electronic control unit to display indiciaindicative of at least one selected from the group of the user'sselection on the remote electronic control unit user interface controland a current mode of operation.
 18. The reel assembly of claim 15,where the remote electronic control unit displays indicia indicative ofat least one selected from the group of a user selection of an interfacecontrol and a current mode of operation.
 19. The reel assembly of claim18, where selection of a user interface control on the local electroniccontrol unit causes the remote electronic control unit to displayindicia indicative of at least one selected from the group of the user'sselection on the local electronic control unit user interface controland a current mode of operation.
 20. A system for deploying a blow outprevention (BOP) stack, the system comprising: a plurality of reelassemblies for accepting, holding, and deploying cable, hose orumbilical connections, each assembly comprising: a spool assemblyincluding a frame and a drum mounted in said frame, the drum including acore and end flanges for storing said cable, hose or umbilicalconnection, an air motor, an electro-pneumatic drive unit including aplurality of pneumatic valves, electro-pneumatic valves, or both, theair motor coupled to the drum via the electro-pneumatic drive unit, anda local electronic control unit coupled to the electro-pneumatic driveunit, where the local electronic control unit receives user input andtransmits electrical signals to the electro-pneumatic drive unit tocause the electro-pneumatic drive unit to control the motor to rotatethe drum; and a remote electronic control unit coupled to theelectro-pneumatic drive unit of each of the plurality of reelassemblies, where the remote electronic control provides user interfacecontrols for controlling each of the plurality of reel assemblies,receives user input for controlling a selected reel assembly and, inresponse, transmits electrical signals to the electro-pneumatic driveunits of the selected reel assembly to cause the electro-pneumatic driveunit of the selected reel assembly to control the motor of the selectedreel assembly to rotate the drum of the selected reel assembly.